Light emitting diode and method for manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A light emitting device is provided, including a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer disposed on the first semiconductor layer, an active layer between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, and a plurality of electrodes. The first semiconductor layer has a step-down region such that one of the plurality of electrodes is placed on the first semiconductor layer. The light emitting device includes a substrate including a first portion having a flat top surface, a second portion having a flat bottom surface and disposed under the first portion, and a side portion disposed between the first portion and the second portion. An area of the flat top surface of the first portion is larger than an area of the flat bottom surface of the second portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/934,021 filed on Jul. 2, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/308,146 filed on Nov. 30, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,502,256, issued Aug. 6, 2013), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/438,808 filed on Feb. 25, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,566, issued Mar. 26, 2013), which is the national phase of PCT international Application No. PCT/KR2007/004587 filed on Sep. 20, 2007, and which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0092732 filed on Sep. 25, 2006. The entire contents of all of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments relate to a light emitting diode and a method for manufacturing the same.

2. Discussion of the Background

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are manufactured through a scribing process of separating a plurality of unit chips after forming a compound semiconductor on the substrate.

The scribing process is to irradiate laser onto a substrate or a compound semiconductor. The substrate or the compound semiconductor, which is adjacent to a scribing region irradiated with the laser, may be damaged during the laser irradiation.

A portion of light generated from an active layer of the LED is emitted to the outside through the scribing region. However, it is difficult for light to pass through a portion of the substrate or the compound semiconductor damaged by the laser, which degrades light efficiency of the LED after all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments provide a light emitting diode (LED) and a method for manufacturing the same.

Embodiments provide an LED with improved light efficiency and a method for manufacturing the same.

An embodiment provides a method for manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED), comprising: forming a semiconductor layer; forming a mask layer on the semiconductor layer; irradiating laser onto a scribing region of the mask layer to divide the semiconductor layer into a plurality of light emitting diodes; etching the scribing region; removing the mask layer; and separating the plurality of light emitting diodes.

An embodiment provides a method for manufacturing a light emitting diode, comprising: forming a semiconductor layer on a substrate; forming a mask layer on the semiconductor layer; irradiating laser onto a scribing region of the substrate to divide the substrate into a plurality of light emitting diodes; etching the scribing region; removing the mask layer; and separating the plurality of light emitting diodes.

An embodiment provides a light emitting diode comprising: a substrate; a semiconductor layer on the substrate; and an electrode on the semiconductor layer, wherein the substrate or the semiconductor layer has at least one etched side surface having a predetermined tilt angle.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Embodiments can provide a light emitting diode (LED) and a method for manufacturing the same.

Embodiments can provide an LED with improved light efficiency and a method for manufacturing the same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 6 are sectional views illustrating a light emitting diode (LED) and a method for manufacturing the same according to a first embodiment.

FIGS. 7 to 11 are sectional views illustrating an LED and a method for manufacturing the same according to a second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to a light emitting diode (LED) and a method for manufacturing the same, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 are sectional views illustrating an LED and a method for manufacturing the same according to a first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor layer 20, a first electrode 31 and a second electrode 41 are formed on a substrate 10 so as to form an LED.

The substrate 10 may include, for example, a sapphire substrate. The semiconductor layer 20 has a multi-stacked structure of a compound semiconductor, which will be more fully described in FIG. 6 later.

A portion of the semiconductor layer 20 may be selectively etched, and the first electrode 31 is formed on an etched portion of the semiconductor layer 20. Accordingly, heights of the first and second electrodes 31 and 41 differ from each other even though they are formed on the same semiconductor layer 20.

The embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrates sectional views for convenience in description, which illustrate processes of forming first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53.

Referring to FIG. 2, a mask layer 60 is formed on the semiconductor layer 20, the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 41.

The mask layer 60 protects the semiconductor layer 20 during a scribing process, and is formed of a material which can be wet-etched or dry-etched. A material for used in the mask layer 60 will be described in detail later.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 61 denotes a scribing region. In this embodiment, laser is irradiated onto the scribing region 61 using a laser irradiation apparatus, thus dividing the semiconductor layer 20 into the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the laser is irradiated onto the scribing region 61, the mask layer 60, the semiconductor layer 20 and the substrate 10 in the scribing region 61 are removed.

During laser irradiation, the layers in the scribing region 61 onto which the laser is irradiated are damaged, causing a damaged region 12 with a rugged surface to be formed, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The light emitted from the active layer of the LED does not pass through but is absorbed at the damaged region 12, and thus the damaged region 12 is removed so as to improve light efficiency of the LED in this embodiment.

The removal of the damaged region 12 may be performed using wet etching or dry etching process.

The wet etching process is performed using a first etchant including at least one of hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO₃), potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) and aluetch (4H₃PO₄+4CH₃COOH+HNO₃). A temperature of the first etchant is between 200° C. and 400° C.

The mask layer 60 prevents the semiconductor layer 20 from being etched during the etching of the damaged region 12. The mask layer 60 may be formed of, for example, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) or an oxide-based material such as silicon oxide (SiO₂), which is hardly etched by the first etchant.

That is, the first etchant has a higher etch selectivity to the damaged region 12 than to the mask layer 60.

Since the mask layer 60 is hardly etched by the first etchant, the damaged region 12 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20.

The dry etching may be performed through an inductively coupled plasma/reactive ions etcher (ICP/RIE) or an RIE. In addition, the dry etching may be performed using a first etching gas including at least one of BCl₃, Cl₂, HBr and Ar.

The mask layer 60 configured to prevent the semiconductor layer 20 from being etched during the etching of the damaged region 12 may be formed of an oxide-based material such as SiO₂, TiO₂ and ITO or a metallic material such as Cr, Ti, Al, Au, Ni and Pt, which is hardly etched by the first etching gas.

That is, the first etching gas has a higher etch selectivity to the damaged region 12 than to the mask layer 60.

The wet etching and the dry etching may be performed for several minutes to several tens of minutes depending on etching environments. FIG. 4 illustrates that the damaged region 12 of the scribing region 61 is removed.

Referring to FIG. 5, the mask layer 60 formed on the semiconductor layer 20 is removed after the removal of the damaged region 12.

The removal of the mask layer 60 may be performed using at least one of the wet etching and the dry etching.

For example, the mask layer 60 is removed through the wet etching using a second etchant including at least one of buffer oxide etchant (BOE) or hydrofluoric acid (HF).

Because the semiconductor layer 20 is hardly etched by the second etchant, the mask layer 60 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20.

That is, the second etchant has a higher etch selectivity to the mask layer 60 than to the semiconductor layer 20.

For example, the mask layer 60 is removed through the dry etching using a second etching gas including at least one of O₂ and CF₄.

The mask layer 60 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20 because the semiconductor layer 20 is hardly etched by the second etching gas.

That is, the second etching gas has a higher etch selectivity to the mask layer 60 than to the semiconductor layer 20.

Thereafter, a physical impact is applied to the substrate 10 and the semiconductor layer 20, so that the first LED 51, the second LED 52 and the third LED 53 are separated from each other by the scribing region 61.

A lapping process may be performed to reduce the thickness of the substrate 10 before applying the physical impact to the substrate 10 and the semiconductor layer 20. The lapping process may be performed through at least one process of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), dry etching, wet etching and mechanical polishing using slurry.

FIG. 6 illustrates the first LED 51 separated by the scribing region.

The first LED 51 includes the semiconductor layer 20, the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 41 which are formed over the substrate 10.

The semiconductor layer 20 includes a buffer layer 21, an n-type semiconductor layer 22, an active layer 23, a p-type semiconductor layer 24 and a transparent electrode layer 25.

The buffer layer 21 relieves stress between the substrate 10 and the n-type semiconductor layer 22 and enables the semiconductor layer to easily grow. The buffer layer 21 may have at least one structure of AlInN/GaN, In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/GaN and Al_(x)In_(y)Ga_(1-x-y)N/In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/GaN.

The n-type semiconductor layer 22 may include a GaN layer doped with silicon, and may be formed by supplying silane gas containing n-type dopant such as NH₃, trimethylgallium (TMGa) and Si.

The active layer 23 may have a single-quantum well or a multi-quantum well (MQW) structure formed of InGaN/GaN. The p-type semiconductor layer 24 may be formed of trimethylaluminum (TMAl), bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium (EtCp2Mg), or ammonia (NH₃).

The transparent electrode layer 25 is formed of a material such as ITO, ZnO, RuOx, TiOx and IrOx. The first electrode 31 may be formed of titanium (Ti) and the second electrode 41 may be formed of a metallic material such as nickel (Ni).

The first LED 51 emits light from the active layer 23 when a power is supplied to the first and second electrodes 31 and 41.

In FIG. 6, a point light source 70 is exemplarily illustrated. A portion of the light emitted from the point light source 70 is reflected by the substrate 10 and emitted to the outside through sides of the first LED 51.

Since the damaged region 12 on the sides of the first LED 51 has been removed through the wet etching or the dry etching, the light is scarcely absorbed at the sides of the first LED 51, and thus it is possible to effectively emit the light to the outside.

FIGS. 7 to 11 are sectional views illustrating an LED and a method for manufacturing the same according to a second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a semiconductor layer 20, a first electrode 31 and a second electrode 41 are formed on a substrate 10 so as to form an LED. In addition, a mask layer 60 and a support member 80 are formed on the semiconductor layer and the first and second electrodes 31 and 41.

The substrate 10 may include, for example, a sapphire substrate. The semiconductor layer 20 has a multi-stacked structure of a compound semiconductor.

A portion of the semiconductor layer 20 may be selectively etched, and the first electrode 31 is formed on the etched portion of semiconductor layer 20. Accordingly, heights of the first and second electrodes 31 and 41 differ from each other even though they are formed on the same semiconductor layer 20.

The embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 11 illustrates sectional views for convenience in description, which illustrate processes of forming first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53.

The mask layer 60 protects the semiconductor layer 20 during a scribing process, and is formed of a material which can be wet-etched or dry-etched.

The support member 80 prevents damages of the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53 which may be caused by a physical force applied to the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53 while laser is irradiated onto the substrate 10 using a laser irradiation apparatus and then the damaged region of the substrate 10 due to the laser irradiation is removed by wet or dry etching.

Further, the support member 80 prevents the separation of the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53 caused by external impact before a process of separating the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53 is completed.

The support member 80 may be formed of at least one of an adhesive tape, a material which can be wet-etched or dry-etched, a metallic material and a wafer substrate.

The support member 80 may be selectively formed depending on thicknesses of the substrate 10 and the semiconductor layer 20. Thus, the support member 80 may be omitted.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 11 denotes a scribing region. In second embodiment, laser is irradiated onto the scribing region 11 using a laser irradiation apparatus, thus dividing the substrate 10 into the first, second and third LEDs 51, 52 and 53.

A lapping process may be performed to reduce the thickness of the substrate 10 before irradiating the laser onto the scribing region 11. The lapping process may be performed through at least one process of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), dry etching, wet etching and mechanical polishing using slurry.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the laser is irradiated onto the scribing region 11, the substrate 10 of the scribing region 11 is selectively removed.

During laser irradiation, the layers in the scribing region 11 onto which the laser is irradiated are damaged, causing a damaged region 12 with a rugged surface to be formed, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The light emitted from the active layer of the LED does not pass through but is absorbed at the damaged region 12, and thus the damaged region 12 is removed so as to improve light efficiency of the LED in this embodiment.

The removal of the damaged region 12 may be performed using a wet etching or dry etching process.

The wet etching process may be performed using a first etchant including at least one of hydrochloric acid (HCl), nitric acid (HNO₃), potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) and aluetch (4H₃PO₄+4CH₃COOH+HNO₃). A temperature of the first etchant is between 200° C. and 400° C.

The mask layer 60 prevents the semiconductor layer 20 from being etched during the etching of the damaged region 12. The mask layer 60 may be formed of, for example, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) or an oxide-based material such as silicon oxide (SiO₂), which is hardly etched by the first etchant.

Since the mask layer 60 is hardly etched by the first etchant, the damaged region 12 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20.

The dry etching may be performed using an ICP/RIE or an RIE. In addition, the dry etching may be performed using a first etching gas including at least one of BCl₃, Cl₂, HBr and Ar.

The mask layer 60 configured to prevent the semiconductor layer 20 from being etched during the etching of the damaged region 12 may be formed of an oxide-based material such as SiO₂, TiO₂ and ITO or a metallic material such as Cr, Ti, Al, Au, Ni and Pt, which is hardly etched by the first etching gas.

The wet etching and the dry etching may be performed for several minutes to several tens of minutes depending on etching environments. FIG. 9 illustrates that the damaged region 12 of the scribing region 11 is removed.

Referring to FIG. 9, the mask layer 60 and the support member 80 formed on the semiconductor layer 20 are removed after the removal of the damaged region 12.

The support member 80 may be differently removed depending on kinds of the support member 80. For example, the support member 80 formed of adhesive tape is removed by detaching it, whereas the support member 80 formed of an etchable material is removed by etching process.

The removal of the mask layer 60 may be performed using at least one method of the wet etching and the dry etching.

For example, the mask layer 60 is removed through the wet etching process using a second etchant including at least one of buffer oxide etchant (BOE) or hydrofluoric acid (HF).

Because the semiconductor layer 20 is hardly etched by the second etchant, the mask layer 60 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20.

For example, the mask layer 60 is removed by the dry etching using a second etching gas including at least one of O₂ and CF₄.

The mask layer 60 can be selectively etched while minimizing the etch amount of the semiconductor layer 20 because the semiconductor layer 20 is hardly etched by the second etching gas.

Thereafter, a physical impact is applied to the substrate 10 and the semiconductor layer 20, and thus the first LED 51, the second LED 52 and the third LED 53 are separated from each other by the scribing region 11.

FIG. 11 illustrates the first LED 51 separated by the scribing region 11.

The first LED 51 includes the semiconductor layer 20, the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 41 which are formed over the substrate 10.

The semiconductor layer 20 includes a buffer layer 21, an n-type semiconductor layer 22, an active layer 23, a p-type semiconductor layer 24 and a transparent electrode layer 25.

The buffer layer 21 relieves stress between the substrate 10 and the n-type semiconductor layer 22 and enables the semiconductor layer to easily grow. The buffer layer 21 may have at least one structure of AlInN/GaN, In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/GaN and Al_(x)In_(y)Ga_(1-x-y)N/In_(x)Ga_(1-x)N/GaN.

The n-type semiconductor layer 22 may include a GaN layer doped with silicon, and may be formed by supplying silane gas containing n-type dopant such as NH₃, TMGa and Si.

The active layer 23 may have a single-quantum well or a multi-quantum well (MQW) structure formed of InGaN/GaN. The p-type semiconductor layer 24 may be formed of trimethylaluminum (TMAL), bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)magnesium (EtCp2Mg), or ammonia (NH₃).

The transparent electrode layer is formed of a material such as ITO, ZnO, RuOx, TiOx and IrOx. The first electrode 31 may be formed of titanium (Ti) and the second electrode 41 may be formed of a metallic material such as nickel (Ni).

The first LED 51 emits light from the active layer 23 when a power is supplied to the first and second electrodes 31 and 41.

In FIG. 11, a point light source 70 is exemplarily illustrated. A portion of the light emitted from the point light source 70 is reflected by the substrate 10 and emitted to the outside through sides of the first LED 51.

In the LED and the method for manufacturing the same according to the embodiments, the LED having a PN junction is described, which includes the n-type semiconductor layer, the active layer and the p-type semiconductor layer. However, a chip separation process according to the embodiments is also available for an LED having a NPN junction where an n-type semiconductor layer, an active layer, a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer are stacked in sequence.

Further, in the LED and the method for manufacturing the same according to the embodiments, the chip separation process of an LED having a horizontal configuration is described, in which the first electrode is formed on the n-type semiconductor layer and the second electrode is formed on the p-type semiconductor layer after the p-type semiconductor layer, the active layer and the n-type semiconductor layer are partially removed.

However, the chip separation process is also available for an LED having a vertical configuration in which the substrate including a conductive substrate, the first electrode, the n-type semiconductor layer, the active layer, the p-type semiconductor layer and the second electrode are sequentially formed. That is, the first electrode is formed between the semiconductor layer and the substrate and the second electrode is formed on the semiconductor layer, respectively.

Any reference in this specification to “a first embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Also, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being ‘on’ or ‘under’ another element, it can be directly on/under the element, and one or more intervening elements may also be present.

A light emitting diode (LED) and a method for manufacturing the same according to the embodiments can be applied to a separation process of LEDs having a variety of structures. 

1. A light emitting device, comprising: a light emitting structure including a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer disposed on the first semiconductor layer, an active layer between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, and a plurality of electrodes, the first semiconductor layer having a step-down region such that one of the plurality of electrodes is placed thereon; and a substrate including a first portion having a flat top surface, a second portion having a flat bottom surface and disposed under the first portion, and a side portion disposed between the first portion and the second portion, an area of the flat top surface of the first portion being larger than an area of the flat bottom surface of the second portion, wherein a side surface of the side portion of the substrate is inclined with reference to the flat bottom surface of the second portion so as to help light emitted from the light emitting structure get out of the substrate, wherein the area of the flat top surface of the first portion is the substantially same as a largest flat surface area of the light emitting structure, and wherein the first portion of the substrate has a substantially vertical side surface with reference to the flat bottom surface of the second portion such that the area of the flat top surface of the first portion is the substantially same as an area of a bottom surface of the first portion.
 2. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein an angle between the side surface of the side portion and the flat bottom surface is an obtuse.
 3. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a width of the flat top surface of the first portion is greater than a width of the flat bottom surface of the second portion.
 4. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of electrodes being placed on the step-down region overlaps the flat bottom surface of the second portion.
 5. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the side surface of the side portion contacts the vertical side surface of the first portion, and wherein a width of the side portion is greater than a width of the second semiconductor layer.
 6. A light emitting device, comprising: a light emitting structure including a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, an active layer between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, and a plurality of electrodes, the first semiconductor layer having a step-down region such that one of the plurality of electrodes is placed thereon; and a substrate including a flat top surface, a flat bottom surface, and an intermediate part between the flat top surface and the flat bottom surface, the intermediate part including a first portion and a second portion disposed under the first portion, side surfaces of the first portion and the second portion each having a different inclination angle with reference to the bottom surface of the substrate so as to help light emitted from the light emitting structure get out of the substrate, wherein an outline of the flat top surface is the substantially same as an outline of the light emitting structure, wherein the first portion of the substrate is thinner than the second portion of the substrate, wherein a length of the side surface of the first portion of the substrate is shorter than a length of the side surface of the second portion of the substrate, and wherein the side surface of the second portion of the substrate has only one inclination angle with reference to the bottom surface of the substrate.
 7. The light emitting device according to claim 6, wherein an angle between the side surface of the first portion and the flat bottom surface is obtuse.
 8. The light emitting device according to claim 6, wherein an angle between the side surface of the second portion and the flat bottom surface is obtuse.
 9. The light emitting device according to claim 6, further comprising: a third portion disposed on the first portion and including a substantially vertical side surface with reference to the flat bottom surface.
 10. The light emitting device according to claim 9, wherein a width of a top surface of the third portion is substantially same as a width of a bottom surface of the light emitting structure.
 11. A light emitting device, comprising: a light emitting structure including a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, an active layer between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, and a plurality of electrodes; and a substrate including a flat top surface, a flat bottom surface, and an intermediate part between the flat top surface and the flat bottom surface, the intermediate part including a first portion and a second portion disposed under the first portion, side surfaces of the first portion and the second portion each having a obtuse inclination angle respectively with reference to the flat bottom surface of the substrate so as to help light emitted from the light emitting structure get out of the substrate, wherein the side surfaces of the first portion and the second portion are provided continuously.
 12. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein a width of a top surface of the first portion is the substantially same as a width of a bottom surface of the light emitting structure.
 13. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein an angle between the side surface of the first portion and the flat bottom surface is different from an angle between the side surface of the second portion and the flat bottom surface.
 14. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein a top surface of the first portion and a bottom surface of the first portion have a width different from each other.
 15. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein a top surface of the second portion and a bottom surface of the second portion have a width different from each other.
 16. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein a width of a bottom surface of the first portion is the substantially same as a width of a top surface of the second portion.
 17. The light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the side surface of the first portion contacts the side surface of the second portion.
 18. The light emitting device according to claim 11, further comprising: a third portion disposed on the first portion and including a substantially vertical side surface with reference to the flat bottom surface.
 19. The light emitting device according to claim 18, wherein a width of a top surface of the third portion is substantially same as a width of a top surface of the first portion.
 20. The light emitting device according to claim 18, wherein a width of a top surface of the third portion is substantially same as a width of a bottom surface of the light emitting structure. 